tl;dr: when employees don’t feel like they have to feel ashamed for asking for flexible work schedules, the results will be better.

I saw an article on CNN the other day that said, Want a more flexible work schedule? Here’s how to ask for it. As I mentioned in “the False Premise of Work,”, my belief is that the world is fundamentally changing to an outcome-oriented, individually accountable/responsible, and transparent workplace.

In this future/present, the idea that you “ask your boss for a flexible work schedule” is anachronistic. If you have to ask, what it tells me is that your “boss” didn’t really do a good job in the single most important element of his/her job…hiring you.

Now, when I hire, I deliberately tell people that time/location don’t matter to me. What matters are results. How you achieve and when you do the associated work, is up to you.

A professional will know that there are times that require real-time collaboration and there are times when asynchronous will do.

There are times when s/he needs to be in the office and times when s/he doesn’t need to be in the office.

That’s up to them.

My job is to say “here’s what I expect from you. Are you clear?” If I’ve done that, then the rest is up to the employee. If they consistently don’t deliver, well then, I know what I need to do.

The other day, one of my team members said to me, “Hey Jer, is it ok if I take a few hours off on Monday for my husband’s birthday?”

You know what I said to her?

“If you ever talk to me about hours again, I may just have to fire you.”

Think about it. Let’s say I had said “no.”

She’d dislike me. She’d dislike the company. Her husband would be upset.

Tell me…in that environment, am I going to get the most creative work out of her brain?

I doubt it.

Are there times when you need “all hands on deck?” Sure. Emergencies happen and people need to understand that, but most of the time, as a matter of course…let people work when, where, how they want (as long as they are clear on the outcomes).

Then, step back and get out of the way.

Groveling before a boss for time is a hallmark of a previous era. Not the knowledge economy.